Circumstances of Our Daily Lives
Of course it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we are called to listen for God in our daily lives. However, it seems that it is easy to go through each day in a hurry, not fully awake to the presence of God in each and every moment. Throughout each day we have many experiences – some we name as great, wonderful, and maybe others as bad or not so good. We might enjoy an experience or want it to be over and yet, do we reflect on how God is speaking to us in our daily lives? Could God be speaking to me in that disagreement I had with my father this weekend or that wonderful conversation I had with my sister? When I passed that homeless man this morning and found myself looking down rather than meeting the sad gaze in his eyes, could God have been speaking to me then? When I arrived this evening and someone welcomed me with a hug, did I take time to reflect on the warmth of God’s presence? God is speaking in every moment. How do we listen? Are we listening?
Integrity of Daily Life
And, finally, how is God speaking to me and how am I listening for God through the integrity of my life. What do I mean by this? Well, it seems to me that, in today’s world, there are so many ways to present ourselves to others. We can so easily compartmentalize our lives and not be true to God’s call in all places. For instance, we can present ourselves one way on Facebook and another way with our Church community. Or it might be that we look one way with our Church community and another way at a party. People can meet different versions of us in different places rather than meeting who we really are. Who is God calling you to be? Can you risk being the person God calls you to be in every place you find yourself? I think as we listen for God’s voice in 2011, we might do well to listen to our own lives and see if we are living our with integrity for God.
As we begin this New Year, we have been given the gift of 365 days (we’ve already lived 26 of them) to listen for God. Let us use this time well and may we find ourselves transformed by the experienced and filled with the love that God gives. May we truly be astonished by what we hear when we truly listen for God in everyone and everything, every day of our lives.
